


for sunlight is like gold

by twohourstraffic



Series: take this sinking boat and point it home [8]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Birthday Party, Gen, Kid Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-16
Updated: 2016-04-16
Packaged: 2018-06-02 14:13:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6569392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twohourstraffic/pseuds/twohourstraffic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Did you buy our one year-old a pair of skates? Baby, she can’t even walk.” </p><p>Gabi Bittle turns one. Her fathers aren't sure how they got this lucky.</p>
            </blockquote>





	for sunlight is like gold

**Author's Note:**

> This series is actually where _take this sinking boat_ is heading, but I got impatient and wanted to write the last few planned instalments first. So here, this can be a side series. I’ll add it to the main series when it’s completed and it actually makes sense for them to be having kids.

**_You are invited to Gabi’s first birthday party!_**  
_When: Saturday May 18, 2pm_  
_Where: Our house_  
_Dress code: Casual but no hockey jerseys_  
_Can’t wait to see you all! Love Jack, Eric and Gabi_

“Bits, can you come in here for a second?”

Bitty comes into the room to see Jack sitting at his desk, looking at the invitation on the computer screen.

“Do you think that we need the dress code on here? She’s turning one, she’s not going to mind what people are wearing.”

Bitty rolls his eyes. “Jack, it’s barely a dress code. If we don’t put it on there, how many people will come wearing jerseys? It’s her first birthday, surely everyone can manage putting on a t-shirt. Or, God forbid, a button-down.”

“Whatever makes you happy, love.”

“No hockey jerseys would make me happy. We’re going to be framing pictures from this party, showing them at her sixteenth and her wedding. Do you want our commentary to go, ‘There are a bunch of her dad’s workmates, they’re the ones wearing hockey jerseys’?”

Jack rolls his eyes. “She’s growing up in the community, babe, I’m pretty sure everyone at her sixteenth will be able to forgive a jersey or two.” He drops the topic, though. “I really like the design of the invites though.”

“Aren’t they great? I got them from Lardo, her firm have a bunch of standard designs. She’s going to print them for us, I just needed to confirm the details. You happy with everything?”

Jack nods his affirmation. Bitty promptly sits in his lap, and replies to the email with the attachment confirming everything. After he’s sent it, they sit in silence for a moment, just enjoying being together. Bitty gently strokes Jack’s arm where it lies on the desk.

Jack tries to work out what’s odd about the scene, before realising that their daughter isn’t making any noise or interrupt them. “I can’t quite believe Gabi’s still asleep. Should we go get her up? She mightn’t sleep properly tonight otherwise.”

“Nah, let’s just let her sleep. She’ll be up soon enough. And while she’s out –” Bitty turns to Jack and kisses him gently.

“Oh, really, babe?” Jack kisses him back, firmer. Their time alone has reduced substantially since Gabi was born, although it has started to increase now that Jack’s work schedule is lighter during the off-season. They’re both panting, and Bitty raises his eyebrows at Jack suggestively. Jack grins back, and starts to undo his husband’s belt buckle when –

As if their daughter has a sixth sense, a call of “Papa hi” comes over the baby monitor sitting on the desk.

Bitty groans, kisses Jack’s hair, then stands up. “I’ll go grab her.”

* * *

The morning of Gabi’s birthday, she wakes her parents up at 6:45. The peaceful silence of their bedroom is softly interrupted by the baby monitor clicking on, detecting some murmuring, and then shattered a few minutes later by Gabi’s siren-like ‘dadadadadadadada’.

Bitty groans, then mutters, “Can you go and grab her, honey? I’ll get the presents out.”

Jack, always much chirpier in the mornings than his husband, grins unpleasantly. “She wants you. You’re Daddy, I’m Papa.”

“You just picked Papa because it’s harder to say,” Bitty whispers accusingly. “Anyway, you’re French. Papa’s a thing in your part of the world. In Georgia, it was Daddy or bust.”

Just as Jack is about to protest that he’s actually Canadian, more out of amusement than any lack of desire to go and get his daughter out of her crib, Gabi changes her call. “Papa!” her voice rings through the monitor. “Papa hi!”

Bitty laughs delightedly. “Our baby is Team Bittle and that’s all I have to say on the matter.”

“Not sure if you’ve forgotten or if it’s just too early, love, but I’m a Bittle now too.”

Bitty smiles slowly, softly. “Yes, you are.” He reaches over to kiss Jack before shoving him out of bed. “Go and get Bittle Number Three, please, and I’ll get the camera ready.”

Jack leaves Bitty rubbing sleep from his eyes and heads down the hallway to their daughter’s nursery. It’s painted a sunny yellow, with gingham curtains and a series of not-entirely-age-appropriate paintings donated by Lardo. He paces over to open the window and let in some fresh air before returning his attention to the guest of honour. Gabi has pulled herself upright and is standing in her crib, thumb in her mouth, looking very indignant at the fact that she was not the first thing to receive her father’s attention.

This is quick to end, though, when Jack pulls her into his arms. She snuggles her head into the crook of his neck, and they stand there for a minute, Jack taking in that baby smell. Gabi soon grows impatient, though, and pulls back to look into Jack’s eyes, placing one hand on his cheek. “Papa hi,” she repeats.

“Good morning, baby girl,” Jack responds, smiling widely. “Happy birthday!”

Gabi clearly has no idea what he’s talking about, but she returns his smile. They stare at each other for a long moment.

Jack frequently finds himself lost in this tiny person that he is responsible for. When they first brought her home from the hospital, he would spend hours with her, walking her up and down the stairs, sitting on the couch watching the History Channel, feeding her in the kitchen, rocking her in the glider that they had purchased on a whim.

Her May birthday had meant that he was able to be properly around for the first few months of her life, and he had wanted to take advantage of it. Every time Bitty had sleepily offered to sit with her, Jack had rejected the offer. He relished being a parent. He adored every minute of it.

It was such an experience, being a founding member of a person’s universe. Finally, an opportunity to create something from scratch. Something beautiful.

After his first thirty-odd years, he had finally discovered things that he cared other than hockey. He loved Bitty with all his heart and soul, but this tiny person who was growing and learning and changing every day … she was his life.

He is brought back to reality by the beautiful opportunity in his arms squirming madly, trying to get to the floor. “Sorry, darling, I was distracted by how amazing you are. Let me just change your diaper and then we’ll go and say good morning to Daddy, OK?”

When the requisite diaper changing is complete, Jack plants Gabi on his hip and heads back down the hall to their bedroom. Bitty has made the bed, arranged a series of presents on it and turned on soft music, and is now in the process of setting up Jack’s camera on the tripod.

“Good morning, sunshine!” Bitty calls from the other side of the room, making his way over to Jack in the doorway. “How are you today, Miss Gabi? Did you sleep well? Are you _so_ excited to be one?”

He takes Gabi and hugs her, swinging her around. She giggles delightedly, and he laughs right back, peppering her face with kisses. “Are you excited to open your presents? Do you even know what presents are? Do you remember when Daddy had his birthday a few weeks ago? And we opened the presents and had cake, and your Uncle Shitty and Aunt Lardo came over? Well, now it’s your turn, sweetheart!”

Gabi focuses on precisely the wrong piece of information and frantically turns her head, looking for her two favourite people besides her parents. Shitty and Lardo are regular guests in their home, to the point that they have a set of keys to the house. Though she may not have a large extended family or see her grandparents very much – Jack’s parents are still in Montreal, Bitty’s in Georgia – she has an enormous network of aunts and uncles. Chowder, or Uncle Chris, used to come for dinner once a week when he was playing with the Falconers, although he transferred to the Sharks as soon as the option became available, and Ransom and Holster must drop in every weekend.

“They’ll be here later, honey. Do you want to open your presents from Daddy and Papa though?”

Gabi was still too young to understand presents at Christmas time, so Bitty and Jack may have gone slightly overboard for her birthday. There is a veritable mountain of wrapped parcels on the bed, although Jack felt slightly less guilty by insisting that most of them were at least a bit educational. The largest present, a wooden play kitchen, comes courtesy of her dad. She can stand but can’t quite walk, although Bitty had assured Jack that this wouldn’t be an issue.

“Anyway, if she can’t use it yet, she can have it in her room,” Bitty had explained while they were at the store. “Oh my gosh, honey, one day we might walk in and she’ll be playing with it all by herself. I can’t wait until she can talk and do things properly, we’re going to have so much fun. How young is too young to learn to bake, do you think? Should I get one of these kid-sized rolling pins?”

They slowly make their way through the pile of presents, Gabi pulling the paper off each one with her dad’s patient help. Jack is manning the camera, but abandons it after about ten minutes to come and join in. Although Gabi doesn’t quite understand birthdays or presents, she does understand that the new books, blocks and clothes are hers. She decamps onto the floor to bang a colourful xylophone that Jack could have sworn he took out of the cart, and Bitty runs into the kitchen to make coffee.

When he returns with two cups, he’s met with the sight of Jack helping Gabi unwrap a box that’s almost larger than she is. He can’t quite believe what he’s seeing, and has to clarify with a, “Did you buy our one year-old a pair of skates? Baby, she can’t even walk.”

Jack looks up without shame, and grabs the proffered cup. “She’ll learn soon. Anyway, I wanted her to get a head start. They can wait in her closet until she’s ready. And you’ll be ready soon, won’t you, darling? Even if you don’t want to play hockey, we can go skating with your daddy in the winter, and you can come join me at practices. Your grandpa started teaching me when I was two, that’s not long now!”

“That’s literally double her current age, Jack.”

“Yeah, but how quickly has this year gone? It won’t be long before she’s there.” Jack stares at Gabi who has returned to her xylophone. He strokes her hair back from her forehead and is rewarded with in kind, although Gabi’s limited coordination means that she just smacks him in the face. He stares at her in mock indignation.

Bitty laughs deeply, bending over to sit on the floor with his little family. “It’s the thought that counts, honey.”

They sit there for a while, Jack helping her to pick out nursery rhymes. Eventually, Bitty gets bored and grabs one of Gabi’s new books, flicking through it slowly. When his stomach rumbles, he decides it’s time to head to the kitchen.

“I’m going to go and get breakfast ready, babe. Come through when she’s sick of Twinkle Twinkle?”

Jack nods his acknowledgement, attention transfixed by the xylophone and the baby on his lap.

Bitty makes them celebratory pancakes and bacon which Gabi doesn’t get to partake in. “Tough luck, babycakes,” he says when she pulls a face at the bowl of baby cereal Jack puts in front of her. “You can have your first taste of pancakes but only after you’ve finished your mush. And without syrup,” he adds, pointing at Jack. “We’re not explaining to her dentist that she has rotten teeth because she’s half Canadian.”

“That is an unfair and racist stereotype, Eric Bittle,” Jack mutters, too busy getting the lid off the syrup to pay too much attention. He pours it liberally over his plate, paying special attention to his bacon, then grabs a banana and slices it over the top of his pancakes. Although he used to disparage the very notion of cheat days, he’s come to love them. “When did you first drink sweet tea?”

Bitty blushes softly. “That’s beside the point,” he mutters, and comes to sit at the table next to Gabi, who has decided that her cereal should be spread over as much of the highchair as possible. “Honey, you know that this is food. Do you think you’re being funny?” He picks up the spoon and feeds her what’s left in the bowl, tapping her nose when she looks like she’s getting bored. “Hey, you! Are you ready to try pancakes? They’re a brave new world, to be honest. Now that you’re one, we might be able to start trying you with more exciting foods.” He turns to his husband, but isn’t able to get the question out before Jack gently interrupts him.

“Too young for pie, Bits. Try and give her another year.”

Bitty frowns but grabs out another plate, placing a pancake on it and cutting it into baby-sized pieces. He holds one up for Gabi to inspect, and she sniffs it before pulling it off the fork with her fingers and putting it in her mouth. Her nose wrinkles for a moment before she breaks into a wide smile.

“Yeah, baby girl? You a fan?”

Jack slices some banana onto the plate, and Gabi makes her way through the fruit and pancake with considerably more enthusiasm than she did the cereal.

“You’re a girl after your daddy’s heart, aren’t you?” Jack asks the baby. She holds eye contact for a few seconds, before getting bored and squashing an abandoned slice of banana under her fingers.

“And that’s the end of that!” Bitty laughs. “Come on, sweetheart, let’s try and get some of that cereal out of your hair. Oh my goodness, I think you might need a bath. Are you ready for a bath? We can play with the duck and the fish, and put bubbles in!”

Jack begins to clear the table as Bitty carries Gabi off to the bathroom.

* * *

A few hours later, Jack is in the garden organising out the garden furniture and getting the grill ready. Bitty sits at the kitchen table with his third cup of coffee, flicking through Twitter while Gabi pushes a wooden train around his feet, making vaguely train-like noises.

“Where’s my favourite girl?”

Gabi literally shrieks at the sound of her godfather in the kitchen doorway, and before Bitty knows what has happened, she has crawled across the room and is being swung around, upside down. “Shits, please be careful with her,” Bitty protests weakly. He knows that she’s fine, that Shitty would rather take a bullet than hurt her, but he feels like he should make a token effort. Jack grew up surrounded by his father’s teammates, and sees nothing wrong with testing the limits of Gabi’s balance.

Shitty flips Gabi the right way up and plants her on his hip, where she sits contentedly, thumb in mouth. He kisses her cheek loudly, then grins at her giggles. “Happy birthday, you little ray of sunshine,” he says, tapping her on the nose. “Now you’re all grown up, are you ready to go get a job? Better start early, that wage gap isn’t going to fix itself.”

Gabi burbles at him and he listens seriously before responding. “Yes, baby girl, you make a valid point, but as long as you’re a cis woman, it’s just something you’re going to have to deal with. I applaud your intersectionality though.” He blows a raspberry on Gabi’s stomach and she shrieks with laughter.

Jack catches the end of the conversation as he walks in and rolls his eyes, going over to Bitty and wrapping his arms around him. “Shits, man, I applaud your efforts to make sure that our daughter is aware, but maybe wait until she can talk?”

“Intersectionality doesn’t sleep, bro.”

“I swear to God, that’s going to be the title of your sex tape,” comes a voice from the hallway. Gabi screams again and wriggles in Shitty’s arms, demanding to be let down. She speed-crawls through the door, and returns a few seconds later clinging to Lardo’s leg, who is carrying a parcel.

Jack rolls his eyes. “Guys, limited sex tape talk around the baby, please?”

Lardo puts down the parcel on the kitchen table, grins at the baby still sitting on her foot, then raises her eyebrows at Bitty. He wrinkles his nose at her. “Is now a good time to point out that she is being raised by a mob of hockey people? And that her parents are both hockey bros?”

“How very _dare you?_ ” Bitty gasps. He turns to Jack. “Baby, you don’t think I’m a hockey bro, do you?”

“Bits, please. Lardo’s just confused because she spends so much time with Shitty. He would never call you a hockey bro, would you, man?”

“Absolutely not. If anything, Bitty, you’re a hockey connoisseur.”

“Damn straight. Oh, Lardo, watch out, honey, she’s sucking your shoelaces. Wait, let me grab you a rusk, she’s teething again.”

Lardo takes the rusk and sits down in a kitchen chair with Gabi planted in her lap. She hands her the rusk, and Gabi begins gnawing on it while simultaneously trying to tangle her other hand in Lardo’s hair. Lardo laughs and kisses her on the forehead before returning to the conversation.

“So, who else is coming to this little shindig?”

Bitty has been in charge of organising the day, so he quickly rattles off the list. “Bob and Alicia, Ransom and Holster, Chowder, some of Jack’s teammates with kids, a few families from her daycare centre. Mom and Coach couldn’t make it up, so it shouldn’t be too big, maybe 25?”

“Do you want to give us anything to do? Have you got a list?” Over the years, Lardo has made the transition from managing the team to an art gallery to heading her own graphic design studio, so her organisational skills haven’t had the opportunity to get rusty. Bitty points to the notebook on the kitchen counter. She stands up, puts Gabi into her highchair and walks over to it, grabbing a highlighter on the way.

“I just put out the garden furniture,” Jack comments, looking at the list over her shoulder and reaching down to check it off.

“OK, so Bitty can finish up desserts, Jack can do salads and sides, I’ll do decorations and set the tables and Shitty can –” Lardo breaks off as she looks over at Shitty, who has made his way over to Gabi and is engaging her in a very serious conversation about his week at work. He looks up at the mention of his name. Gabi pulls on his shirt in an attempt to regain his attention, and he absent-mindedly pats her hair as he waits for his instructions.

“– Shitty can watch the guest of honour while we do adult things.”

“Hells yes I can.” He turns back to the baby. “We’re going to have so many adventures, Gabs. I’m thinking Netflix, then we’ll go look at your presents, maybe do some drawing.”

Gabi has absolutely no idea what is going on, but the adults in her life are looking anywhere between excited and bemused, so she just holds out her arms and lets Shitty carry her into the den.

“She’ll need a N-A-P soon, Shits. You can do the honours if you want, you know how she feels about them. Are you ready to test the limits of your love?” Jack calls after them. He gets a middle finger in response. Lardo snorts, Jack shakes his head affectionately and Bitty laughs as they get going on their assigned tasks.

* * *

A few hours later, Gabi has napped, been woken up by Shitty, refused to talk to him and snuggled with Lardo on the couch while shooting betrayed looks in Shitty’s direction. Her parents are taking advantage of the free time to try and get the party ready. Jack has been entrusted with chopping vegetables, while Bitty is icing cupcakes and trying to keep an eye on the minipies in the oven.

Shitty asks for something to do, mainly to escape Gabi’s judgmental eyes, and is put on grill duty. He pokes at the coals while they heat up, and is soon joined by Holster. Ransom is put on baby duty, and sets to playing peekaboo with a shrieking Gabi. Lardo puts the drinks on ice and then heads inside to help Jack.

Bob and Alicia are the next ones to arrive. Bob heads into the kitchen to say hello to the masses, while Alicia makes a beeline for her granddaughter. She quickly says hello to Ransom, before pulling Gabi into her arms, tears in her eyes, murmuring into her hair softly about how much she has grown. Alicia and Bob last visited at Easter, but Jack and Bitty are the first to admit that Gabi is changing every day. Skype, FaceTime and Instagram can only fill so many gaps.

Jack walks into the living room to say hi to his mother, and hugs her when he notices that she’s crying. He knows what it’s like to miss your family. Gabi wriggles, trying to escape from where she’s squashed between Jack and Alicia, and Alicia steps back from her son with a sniff.

“I’m just so sorry, Miss Gabi. How are you, sweetheart?”

Gabi grins toothily and smacks Alicia in the face affectionately. “Mama hi,” she says wisely. They’re still working on ‘grandma’.

“Hi there, sweet thing.”

“Mom, do you think you could go and get Gabi changed? Her clothes are on the change table in her room, it’s just the shirt and pants. And maybe if you could run a comb through that hair?”

Alicia snaps a salute. Jack pulls a face at her but leaves them to it, dragging Ransom into the kitchen from where he’s been perusing his phone on the couch. “Who could you possibly be texting that isn’t here?”

“Sorry, bro. It’s a work thing.”

“At my daughter’s first birthday party? I’m ashamed.”

Ransom blushes. “So am I. Don’t tell Holtzy.”

Jack rolls his eyes and drags him outside to grab a beer, going over to join Bob who has taken over the grill. Shitty and Holster have been shifted into the kitchen. It looks like they were slicing bread, but have moved onto a speed-chopping contest. It’s all slightly chaotic, but nothing they haven’t seen before.

Over the next half hour, the rest of the guests arrive, and the party is soon in full swing. Jack’s teammates and Chowder surround the grill, trying to find a polite way to pick Bob’s brains. Shitty, Holster and Bitty are sprawled out on a rug on the grass with a small pile of beers, casually demolishing a plate of chopped vegetables. Jack is making small talk with the parents from Gabi’s daycare, keeping an eye on the group of kids playing on the lawn. Gabi is on the edge of said group, showing her grandmother how to place objects in a line. Ransom and Lardo are sitting at the kitchen table, chatting about work.

Bitty pulls out his phone to check the time, then catches Jack’s eye and beckons him over. Jack walks over, sits on the edge of the rug and grabs the beer Shitty offers. “What’s up, babe?”

“I was just thinking that it might be time for speeches, if that’s OK.”

Jack’s eyes go wide. “Wait, shit, we’re doing speeches?”

“Jack, oh my _God_. Of course we’re doing speeches. Did you really think I’d pass up the opportunity to talk about your kick-ass kid?” Shitty asks indignantly. “Plus, I’m totally going to cement my position as best aunt and/or uncle. Get ready for it.”

“In your wildest dreams, bro,” Holster protests, shoving Shitty in the arm. He falls over dramatically.

Bitty blushes. “Shitty may have requested speeches, to be honest.”

“Of course he did,” Jack mutters with an eye roll. “Wait, Bits, are you doing one? Do you want me to do one?”

“Nah, not if you don’t want to. I don’t think I’m going to. Your call.”

“Just know that if you don’t, Bitty will win best dad by default, cos he made the birthday cake.”

“Shut up, Holster. As I said, your call, sweetheart.”

* * *

“Hi, everyone. Sorry that I’m giving the speech with the guest of honour on my hip, but she just loves me so goddamn much, she won’t let me put her down. OK. For those of you who don’t know, I’m Shitty Knight. I’m a friend of Jack’s from college. Jack is my best friend, my brother, and when he found Bitty, I knew that he’d finally found someone who could balance him out, because let’s face it, he needs balancing. And then they got married, and their lives were so perfect, and then they told me that Gabi was coming. And I just lost my shit – sorry Bits, I’m trying – but I was just so excited, because I couldn’t wait to have a kid around to love on. Especially one that belongs to two of my best friends. And this little munchkin, God, she’s just honestly amazing, you know. She sees you and just loses her fucking mind, it’s awesome. She’s the sweetest kid, and I know that she’s going to face some shit in her future, everyone does, but I have no doubt that she’ll get through it, because she’s got the greatest parents and some pretty awesome uncles and aunts – wave, guys – and a great head on her shoulders. I can just tell she’s going to do great things. Happy first birthday, baby girl. You’re going to rock the world one day.”

* * *

“Wow, how am I supposed to top that? Thanks, Shits. Hi. I’m Larissa, another friend of Jack’s from college. To be honest, I really didn’t have much exposure to kids before Gabi was born, so I’m not sure how she measures up to other kids, but I know that she’s pretty awesome. I mean, Shitty has said everything I wanted to say, which is just rude, but … yeah, Gabi is the greatest. So loving, so snuggly … If you ever need someone to sit on you and make you feel calm, go grab Gabi for a bit. And sure, sometimes she cries or whatever, but she’s probably been to more hockey games than any general member of the population. She’s going to be so kick-ass when she grows up, give it a few years. Oh, plus, I’m totally calling dibs on teaching her to draw. So, anyway … Gabi, babe, I love you. I can’t wait until you can talk and we can have actual chats.”

* * *

“Hi, everyone! Wow, no pressure falling those two! My name is Chris Chow, I’m a friend from college but I went to Brown with Bitty, not Samwell with everyone else. What do I say? Um … Well, when I first moved to Providence to play for the Falcs, Jack full on took me in. I’m not even sure why, he didn’t even know me, but I was the new guy on the team and I think he felt sorry for me. Took me out for meals, showed me around, introduced me to the team. Then he met Bitty and worked out that I knew him, and suddenly I had two people keeping an eye out for me, which was, you know, pretty awesome! My family are in California, so it was kind of nice just to know that I had someone close by to talk to. Anyway, I ended up with the Sharks which I’m sure you already know, I mean, not to assume anything, oh my gosh. _Anyway_. When Jack and Bitty had Gabi, it was pretty cool. You know, first baby of my friends and all that. And Gabi is so great, she’s the cutest. And she’s really good at hockey games? Just so chill, it’s amazing. So basically, Gabi is awesome and I can’t wait until she can actually walk and talk and stuff. We’re going to have so much fun. Happy birthday, kid.”

* * *

“Hi guys, I’m Holster. Well, Adam Birkholtz. Friend from college, like everyone else here. We all played hockey together, back in the day. Um … OK, so when Jack and Bitty told me that Gabi was coming, I wasn’t surprised. I mean, I was surprised in that it took so long. But I was also a bit worried – you know, they’re the first of our college friends to have kids and I just thought that it might change things. In a bad way. But then Gabi got here and … God, she’s just so great. She’s the most loving, lovely kid you’ll ever meet, and I’m so lucky to be in her life. We all are. Thanks for letting us have that, Jack and Bitty. We honestly owe you one.”

* * *

“Hi everyone. I’m Alicia, Gabi’s grandmother. Jack’s mother, to clarify – don’t let the hair colour fool you. I know Susanne and Coach wanted to be here today, but they couldn’t get up from Georgia. I suppose I just want to say that Bob and I are so, so proud of the man that Jack has become. He has been through a lot, but meeting Eric has honestly turned his life around. He’s playing well but, much more importantly, he has absolutely bloomed off the ice and it’s – don’t you frown at me, honey, you know it’s true. Oh, apparently I’m not allowed to embarrass my son in front of his friends. Anyway … I didn’t think that I could love anyone as much as I loved Bob, but then Jack was born. And now we have Gabi, who is just the sweetest baby. I can’t quite believe she was born a year ago today. Time really does fly. When Jack and Eric brought her home from the hospital, I told them to make sure that Gabi knew she was loved. Looking around today, they could not have done a better job. Happy birthday, my darling girl. And thank you, boys, for bringing her into our lives.”

* * *

From where he’s filming behind the tripod, Jack sniffs softly. Bitty, wrapped in his arms, head-butts his chest softly. He smiles into Bitty’s hair and wonders how they have gotten this lucky.

* * *

After cake and pie and milkshakes, people slowly start to trickle home. Alicia and Bob are staying for a few days, so Bob starts stacking the dishwasher as Alicia cleans up the garden. When Jack and Bitty try to help, Alicia waves them off. “Enjoy the afternoon,” she says with a smile.

Finally, it’s just the Samwell crew, Chowder, Bitty and Gabi left outside. Gabi sits with her xylophone, banging out a tune which Holster kindly suggests might be Three Blind Mice. There are spots of cupcake in her hair, and grass stains on her pants, but she looks so happy that Jack doesn’t do anything. Bitty and Chowder are lying on the grass, looking up at the clouds and chatting softly.

Shitty turns to Jack and murmurs, softly, “ _Fuck_ , bro. Our lives are pretty fucking awesome.”

Jack smiles. They really, really are.

**Author's Note:**

> If you so desire, come say hi on [Tumblr](http://murrayhewitt.tumblr.com).


End file.
